iOS 6 home screen scaling feeds taller iPhone rumors

iOS 6 can add a whole new home screen row for a taller display.

Is Apple really planning to release an iPhone with a taller screen? Some believe that the latest beta of iOS 6 reveals evidence of such plans in the form of home screen scaling and icon arrangement.

9to5Mac posted screenshots of iOS's home screen scaling behavior when the display resolution is set to 640x1136—the rumored resolution of the as-yet-unannounced next-generation iPhone. Under (the currently public) iOS 5.1, the home screen merely stretches the current four rows of icons when the iOS Simulator is set to this resolution. But under iOS 6, the home screen makes room for a whole fifth row of icons—and only under 640x1136. Any bigger than that, "the icons will scale to an iPad-like home screen layout, not at the proportions and spacing of the current iPhone and iPod touch display," wrote 9to5Mac.

The current iPhone resolution is 640x960, but numerous rumors have pointed to the possibility of a larger-screened iPhone on the horizon for this fall. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly "worked closely" on the design of such an iPhone, and the latest theory is that the device will sport a 16:9 aspect ratio. The evidence found within iOS 6 is hardly conclusive, but it does show that Apple is thinking about how to better handle changes in resolution when it comes to its home screen. The question is: where does the so-called "iPad mini" fit into all this?